WASHINGTON, DC - President Obama is traveling to the African nations of Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa from June 26-July 3See Jubilee USA's Director's press statement below and read Jubilee's recommendations to the President and backgrounderhere.

"It's an incredibly exciting moment as the President and First Lady visit Africa after the momentum of the G8 meeting that focused on corporate tax avoidance and poverty. We hope the President will use the trip to focus on corporations avoiding taxes in Africa. Corporate tax avoidance in much of sub-Saharan Africa amounts to a theft from the poor.

"The faith community prays that the President will shine a light on the debt crisis that is keeping millions of people poor across the continent."

Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more than 75 US organizations, 250 faith communities and 50 Jubilee global partners working. Jubilee's mission is to build an economy that serves, protects and promotes participation of the most vulnerable. Jubilee USA has won critical global financial reforms and more than $130 billion in debt relief to benefit the world's poorest people. www.jubileeusa.org

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Tomorrow,
the House judiciary committee will markup H.R. 2131 the Supplying Knowledge-based Immigrants and Lifting Levels of STEM Visas
Act (SKILLS Visa Act) and H.R. 1772 the Legal
Workforce Act. Both of these bills are piecemeal approaches to immigration
reform and address only certain aspects of our immigration system. If they pass
out of the committee they would stand to be debated by the full House
floor.

Our General Assembly policy calls for immigration reform that preserves
family unity. As people of faith we recognize the importance of having healthy families
that are united. Not only do families promote the integration of migrants into society and create healthy, viable communities but they also increase participation in our economy. Today's push for immigration reform has highlighted the pain and suffering caused by the separation of
families and the need to create legal avenues for families to stay together,
not drive them apart. The SKILLS Visa Act is written to help U.S.
employers hire immigrants in high-tech industries but it does so by reducing
family-based visas over time, thus making the legal immigration system less
accessible for U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents who are trying to
reunite with their close family members. The bill would abolish the
opportunity for U.S. citizens to have their brothers or sisters join them in
the United States and it would prevent any siblings with approved
petitions who have been waiting years to join their family members
from entering the country.

Our General
Assembly also calls for the protection of workers and for employment laws that
protect the right to organize and seek redress for grievances. The Legal Workforce Act mandates the use of
an electronic employment eligibility verification system (EEVS) by every
employer in the U.S. within 2 years. The bill increases penalties for employers
who knowingly hire or employ unauthorized workers and there are limited
remedies for workers who may be fired due to an error in the EEVS. The bill
would also allow for employers to condition a job offer on a worker’s final
verification by the EEVS and limits the documents that may be used to prove
employment eligibility and identity.

What happened last week in the House?

Despite the hundreds of calls made by the faith community, the House passed the SAFE Act out of the judiciary committee last week. The SAFE Act’s focus is to expand immigration enforcement and
detention. If enacted it will lead to the expansion of racial profiling,
unconstitutional arrests, and mass detention and deportations. House leaders Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) can
now decide not to bring the SAFE Act up
for a vote in the House.

The House judiciary
committee also passed, Goodlatte’s Agricultural Guest Worker bill. The bill
would create a new agricultural guest worker program without an opportunity for
undocumented farmworkers to earn immigration status or citizenship. Current
undocumented farmworkers and their families would be expected to self deport.
Farmworkers would be allowed to return to the U.S. if an employer sponsors them
for a temporary work visa but they would not be allowed to bring family
members. The bill would limit worker access to judicial relief and legal
assistance to protect their few rights and would also eliminate the 50% rule,
which requires employers to hire qualified U.S. workers who apply for work
during the first half of the season.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Read this reflection about the Southern border written by Melissa G. Davis, coordinator of the Office of Immigration Issues for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), as the Senate debates the Corker-Hoeden amendment,which doubles down on unnecessary and excessive border militarization provisions.

The border is not this inanimate object. It is not a place that indicates the end of one
thing and the beginning of another. My observation is probably laughable to the
hundred or so people I met while visiting the border region of Arizona last month.
Particularly to the woman I saw carrying a birthday cake and small blue tricycle
through the checkpoint and into Mexico. The border, and border life, is fluid. It is a
space more than a place. It represents a way of life, a way of being, and most
importantly, a way of thinking. To think of the border as an object sanitizes it of its
life and ignores the people shaped by the border land and culture.
I realized how fluid the border is and my own privilege as a result of my white skin
and U.S. passport when my colleague and I were leaving Mexico one. We were
exhausted and distracted by our talking and laughing. We knew our hotel was close
and followed the migratory pattern established that morning. Unfortunately, we
were attempting to leave Mexico via the entry point, not the exit. We were stopped
by two Custom and Border Patrol agents, who lightly and humorously scolded us
then let us pass. Our hotel was so close that we had momentarily forgotten that we
had to get “there.” Only the checkpoint acknowledged the difference between here
and there, the sights, the smells, the air – it all felt the same.
On another occasion, I stood with my colleagues at a checkpoint waiting to reenter
the U.S. and a man pointed out how the barrier altered a centuries old street. It was
clear that the checkpoint was built on an existing road, cutting one end from the
other. The longer we waited the more stories he told. He pointed out a building on
our right that was charred from a recent fire. He shared with us how fire trucks from
the U.S. got as close to the barrier as possible and then shot water over the
checkpoint to help extinguish the flames. There was a tremendous amount of
commerce and community building taking place at this barrier. Many U.S. citizens I
met traveled to Mexico for dental work and to have their prescriptions filled for a
fraction of the cost in the U.S.
Bipartisan immigration reform legislation has been proposed and it has sparked an
immigration debate. Our country is having this debate in sound bites. This creates,
usually, a false and simplistic view of a complex policy and it leads the American
public to believe that our options are few. As a result this debate has focused on only
two aspects of reform: a legalization program for people already living and working
in the U.S. and border maintenance. It is further believed that these two things are in
tension with one another. Politicians and the public are therefore forced to make
this false choice between “securing” the border or providing a pathway out of the
shadows for families who have already given so much to this country.
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church has policy on immigration reformthat calls for comprehensive reform of our nation’s immigration laws. This policy

advocates for a pathway to citizenship for the millions of people already living and
working in the U.S. and opposes the militarization of our southern border. The
General Assembly, in its wisdom, recognizes that we can have safe and humane
border policy in line with the values of America AND provide a pathway to
citizenship.
As I shared this policy with Presbyterians in Arizona, I kept hearing from border
people about the necessity of not throwing the border under the bus in an effort to
secure legalization. They shared their concerns about the proposed legislation, the
Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013
(SB744) and the additional funds that are to be used for fencing, drones, agents, and
other equipment that, they believe, will not increase their safety but further
militarize their lives. People living in the border area understand that the rest of the
country is willing to have them bear the burden of reform for all of us. Until my visit
with them I did not fully understand what was being asked of them.
The immigration reform legislation, SB744, made it out of the Senate Judiciary
Committee relatively unscathed, for better and for worse. The legislation is clearly a
product of negotiation, but we should not blindly accept it. People of faith should
remember that this legislation was written by politicians with political aspirations
and re-election treasure chests that are never quite full enough. Our faith calls us to
justice, not to compromise.
Soon the legislation will be debated on the full Senate floor. In response, a group of
Republicans have circulated a dear colleague letter that makes clear their intention
to continue the effort to militarize the border, even at the expense of a workable
legalization plan. It is going to be a long summer and Presbyterians must remain
vigilant and engaged in the process where our values will be traded for votes.
We are to become advocates, witnesses to the biblical mandate to do justice. While
government is created by God and therefore good for us, we also recognize that it
too is fallen and in need of redemption. Christians do not submit to the powers and
the government blindly, but have responsibility to ensure that the laws that govern
our lives together reflect our values.
As people of faith, we have the privilege and responsibility to stand in solidarity
with the parts of the body that suffer and to suffer with them. This space, and the
people who populate it, are suffering and we cannot ask them to suffer more on our
behalf. The long lines at check points that keep birthday girls waiting, the racial
profiling that privileges some, the normalizing of surveillance and loss of due
process, and most importantly, the loss of life has created untold sorrow. We can
bring commonsense to this debate and move beyond sound bites. Presbyterians
working locally help communities understand the effects of our broken immigration
system and the opportunities to become involved in this movement.

The effects of a border policy that ignores due process and human dignity may feel a
world away but these hurts and the suffering are born by all of us. The increase of
equipment and military presence to this volatile region of the world is dangerous,
putting federal agents and citizens at risk. In addition it threatens the culture of our
southern borderlands.
This is not a zero sum game, we can have a just commonsense plan that provides for
those present in the U.S. without authorization a pathway out of the shadows to a
place of full recognition of their contributions and we can have a workable border
maintenance plan that respects human dignity and American notions of due process,
while protecting our nation from those who wish to do our country harm.
Learn about this space we call our southern border and its culture and join in the
effort by contacting your Senators and urging them to not further build up the
border region with equipment and agents. Ask them to not hang the hopes and
dreams of millions on the politically created triggers and political aspirations of
members of congress. Heed the call of those asking the American public to respect
the culture of this space and not throw it and its people under the bus during this
debate.
For more information on Presbyterians working at our southern border, contact
Frontera de Cristo at http://www.fronteradecristo.org/.

Learn to be an effective advocate by utilizing this resource from the office of Public
Witness for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) at
http://www.presbyterianmission.org/media/uploads/compassion-peace-
justice/pdf/holy_discontentment_advocacy_resource_final.pdf.
The Southern Border Communities Coalition is working to amend SB744 in ways
that increase efficiencies as opposed to simply further militarizing the border:
www.soboco.org.

At 5:30 p.m. today, the Senate will vote to replace the current version of SB744 with the Corker-Hoeven Amendment. It is expected that this vote will pass and the Corker-Hoeven Amendment will become the NEW reform legislation. Please see below for a summary of the changes. Advocates are feeling very torn about this because it militarizes our border, while tying legalization to those changes and expenditures. There are questions about how this build up will be paid for and estimates put the cost at $30Billion.

This militarization of our borders is in opposition to GA policy. Further, GA policy calls for a full pathway to citizenship without "imposing punitive costs, wait times, or other irksome conditions."

Please call
your Senators and urge them to oppose the Corker-Hoeven
Amendment and to support a comprehensive immigration plan that provides a
pathway to citizenship without militarizing our border or making the pathway to
citizenship contingent on border measures.

Sample call script: "I am from [City, State,
Congregation], and I support immigration reform. As a person of faith, I urge
the Senator to OPPOSE the Corker-Hoeven amendment, by objecting to the
substitution and calling for consideration of this amendment in regular
order.

WHAT IS THE CORKER-HOEVEN AMENDMENT?

This amendment would require the following before Registered Provisional Immigrants (RPIs) can obtain green cards:

An unprecedented surge
more than doubling the Border Patrol with an additional 20,000 agents along the
southern border (there are currently a little over 21,000 agents, resulting in
nearly a doubling of BP)

$4.5 billion in
specific technology and equipment operationalized along the southern
border

At least 700 miles of
fencing completed along the southern border

Mandatory electronic
visa entry/exit system implemented at all air and sea ports of entry to detect
those who overstay visas

Mandatory
employment-verification system used by all employers

Mandates
initiation of removal proceedings for at least 90% of those who overstay visas

The amendment would also prevent immigrants from getting Social Security credits for what they have already paid into the system using a social security number that was not issued to them; and restrict the Department of Health and Human Services from granting waivers to states to allow them to use Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) dollars to provide benefits to people in RPI status.

Rather than being considered as a separate amendment to the bill, the Corker-Hoeven amendment instead will be rolled into a substitute bill that includes all the provisions of the original immigration reform bill S. 744, as well as all of the amendments that have been added to the bill through the floor amendment process.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Although the media tends to focus on violent incidents in
Israel and Palestine, nonviolent actions for peacemaking occur daily with
little fanfare.As people of faith, it
is our duty to helpraise the voices of
both Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers against the ongoing acts of horrific
violence and terror. Urge your members of Congress to seek a true resolution to
the conflict, not just a swift action that will perpetuate the suffering of our
sisters and brothers in the middle east.

If any peace agreement is to succeed, it must
address core concerns of the conflict, including:

·The cessation of systematic violation of human
rights by any party, specifically,

practices of administrative detention, collective
punishment, the torture of prisoners and suspects, home demolitions and
evictions, and the deportation of dissidents.

·The end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian
territories and diversion of water

resources.

·The dismantling of the wall between the
regions.

·An immediate freeze both on the establishment or
expansion of Israeli settlements in

the West Bank and
on the Israeli acquisition of Palestinian land and buildings in East Jerusalem.

·A shared status for Jerusalem.

·Equal rights for Palestinian citizens of the state
of Israel.

Take action to end the violence and bring about
genuine and lasting change in the Holy Land. Please ask your Members of
Congress for a just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

I urge you to help raise the voices of Israeli
and Palestinian peacemakers to seek a just and
permanent resolution to the conflict, not just a swift action that will
perpetuate the suffering of our sisters and brothers in the middle east.To contact your members of Congress, click "Take action" or follow this link: http://www.capwiz.com/pcusa/issues/alert/?alertid=62740931&type=ML

On
May 6, 2013, the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church (USA) urged your administration to exercise caution and wisdom in any
response to reports of chemical weapons use in Syria.Of particular concern to our church, and our
Christian partners on the ground, is the potential for increased violence and
widening of the conflict.

The
recent announcement by the Deputy National Security advisor that there is
credible evidence that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons against the
Syrian people is extremely disturbing.However, further intervention from outside parties only increases the
risk that the conflict in Syria will result in surging civilian deaths and even
worse humanitarian conditions for the Syrian people.

As
you know, civilians are bearing the brunt of the fighting in Syria with nearly
93,000 killings documented through the end of April.And, the United Nations has estimated that
ten million Syrians will need aid by the end of this year - 3.45-million Syrian
refugees in neighboring countries, and 6.8 million people in Syria itself.The current situation in Syria is fragile
and complex with weaponsnow accessible
throughoutthe country escalating
violence and instability.

The
220th General Assembly (2012) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) urged our
government:

•to support a
mediated process of cessation of violence by all perpetrators, including the
Assad regime and armed opposition groups; •to call for all
outside parties to cease all forms of intervention in Syria; •to support a
strong and necessary role for the United Nations, possibly including observers
and peacekeeping forces; and •to refrain from
military intervention in Syria.

In
keeping with this action of the GeneralAssembly, I urge you to use extreme caution in implementing policies
that might escalate the conflict.I
further urge you to work with the United Nations and other governments to
contain the violence, restore stability in the region, provide humanitarian
assistance, and encourage the building of an inclusive society in Syria that
protects the rights of all its citizens.

The
tragedy that is unfolding on the ground in Syria is heartbreaking and the
cohesion of the Syrian social fabric is essential for the stability of the
entire region.Syria urgently needs a
political solution that ends the fighting and creates a future for all
Syrians.It is only through nonviolent
means that we can hope for radical change that leads to a just peace.

About Me

The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness is the public policy information and advocacy office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Its task is to advocate, and help the church to advocate, the social witness perspectives and policies of the Presbyterian General Assembly. The church has a long history of applying these biblically and theologically-based insights to issues that affect the public — maintaining a public policy ministry in the nation's capital since 1946.
Reformed theology teaches that because a sovereign God is at work in all the world, the church and Christian citizens should be concerned about public policy. In addition, Presbyterian forefather John Calvin wrote, "Civil magistry is a calling not only holy and legitimate, but by far the most sacred and honorable in human life."